Global Manufacturing
German Leader Welcomes GM Investment
April 11, 2013 12:16 pm | News | CommentsGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel has welcomed General Motors' decision to invest another 4 billion euros ($5.3 billion) in European subsidiary Opel by 2016 as part of an attempt to turn the money-losing division around. Merkel met with GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson and other company officials Thursday in Berlin.
China's March Auto Sales Rise
April 11, 2013 12:09 pm | by Joe McDonald, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsChina's auto sales in March rose 13.3 percent over a year earlier but Japanese automakers suffered more declines, an industry group reported Thursday. Customers in the world's biggest vehicle market bought 1.6 million cars, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
Toyota, Honda, Nissan Announce Air Bag Recall
April 11, 2013 2:45 am | by Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsThe recall for air bags made by Japan's Takata Corp. affects other automakers including non-Japanese manufacturers, and may be as many as 3 million vehicles, Takata spokeswoman Akiko Watanabe said Thursday. She declined to give details.
Chinese Demand For Baby Milk Causes 'Ration' In UK
April 10, 2013 10:57 am | by Sylvia Hui, Associated Press | News | CommentsLeading supermarket chains Tesco and Sainsbury's say they have started advising customers to buy no more than two tins of milk powder in each transaction. The British Retail Consortium said Wednesday other retailers are imposing similar limits to ensure there is enough stock for everyone wanting baby milk.
Q&A: Barriers To American Re-shoring
April 10, 2013 10:54 am | by Joel Hans, Managing Editor, Manufacturing.net | Articles | CommentsThe skills gap comes not from one fold — lack of students finding incentive in getting these skills, and then a lack of desire in the manufacturing companies to train. Our incentive structure, from the government’s perspective, it’s largely focused on being a tax-based incentive. I think it should be more training-centric.
Canada: Pipeline Rejection Would Mar Relations
April 10, 2013 10:54 am | by Rob Gillies, Associated Press | News | CommentsPremier Alison Redford said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press that the issue would keep coming up. Redford is in Washington for her fourth trip to lobby on behalf of a pipeline that Canada sees as critical to its economic well -being.
Dutch Recall 50,000 Tons Of Meat Across Europe
April 10, 2013 10:24 am | by Mike Corder, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority said Wednesday around 370 different companies around Europe and 130 more in the Netherlands are affected by the recall because they bought meat from two Dutch trading companies. The authority says that because the exact source of the meat cannot be traced, "its safety cannot be guaranteed."
Employers Eager For New Foreign Worker Program
April 10, 2013 10:22 am | by Sam Hananel, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe new W visa program would admit 20,000 low-skilled foreign workers starting in 2015 and could gradually grow up to a cap of 200,000 after five years. The number of visas would fluctuate, depending on unemployment rates, job openings, employer demand and other data.
Global Trade To Be Weaker Than Expected
April 10, 2013 10:18 am | by John Heilprin, Associated Press | News | CommentsGlobal trade will be weaker than expected this year as European economies struggle with their debt crisis, and will recover only slightly in 2014, the World Trade Organization said Wednesday. The global trade body forecast in its annual report that trade would grow 3.3 percent during 2013, significantly less than the 4.5 percent it had earlier predicted.
China And California Sign Deal To Boost Investment
April 10, 2013 10:11 am | News | CommentsBrown and the California business executives he is traveling with on the seven-day mission are keen to attract more Chinese investment. Brown, however, is acknowledging there are limits to the incentives the state will make, telling American executives that keeping the state's budget in balance is a priority.
GM's Akerson Affirms Commitment To Opel
April 10, 2013 8:35 am | News | CommentsGM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson said at a news conference Wednesday that GM was "fully supportive of the Opel turnaround plan" and that the Detroit-based group "must have a strong presence in Europe and especially here in Germany." Akerson added that GM was committed to investing $5.22 billion in Europe by 2016.
China Recovery Dogged By Doubt As Data Questioned
April 10, 2013 8:23 am | by Joe McDonald, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsExports probably are lower than reported, based on what is known about shipments into Hong Kong, which Beijing lists as its biggest trading partner, said Francis Lun, chief economist of GE Oriental Financial Group. Hong Kong is Chinese territory but is treated as a separate customs region.
French Workers Sue Goodyear In Ohio To Save Jobs
April 10, 2013 8:11 am | News | CommentsThe class-action lawsuit was filed in Summit County Common Pleas Court against Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. on behalf of workers at its factory in Amiens, France. Robert Gary, an attorney who worked on the filing, said the labor dispute was taken to court in Ohio because corporate decisions affecting French workers were made in Akron.
India Car Sales Drop For 1St Time In A Decade
April 10, 2013 6:57 am | by Kay Johnson, Associated Press | News | CommentsCar sales in India fell by 6.7 percent in the past year, the first decline in a decade for the country's once-booming auto industry as it grapples with a wider economic malaise. About 1.9 million passenger cars were sold domestically in the 2012-13 fiscal year that ended last month, compared with 2 million the previous year.
Wal-Mart Donates $1.6M To Promote Fire Safety
April 9, 2013 2:08 pm | News | CommentsWal-Mart Stores Inc. says it will donate $1.6 million to toward health and safety education in Bangladesh, three months after a fire swept through a factory there, killing 112. The fire raised questions about safety in Bangladesh's garment industry, which exports clothes to leading Western retailers.
Manufacturing Makes America Strong
April 9, 2013 1:23 pm | by National Association of Manfuacturers | Videos | CommentsManufacturing makes America strong. It makes families and communities strong. It provides national security. It gives us energy security. And for the 12 million men and women who work in manufacturing, it gives us pride. Caterpillar, Inc. CEO & NAM Board Chairman Doug Oberhelman tells the story of manufacturing in America and the history of the National Association of Manufacturers.
BMW Sets Monthly Sales Record
April 9, 2013 11:33 am | News | CommentsGerman luxury automaker BMW AG says it had its best month ever in March, increasing global sales by 3 percent to 191,269 vehicles. For the first three months of the year, sales rose by 5.3 percent compared with a year earlier, to 448,200 units — even though sales slipped in the company's home market, Germany.
AMT: Feb. U.S. Technology Orders Up 5.7 Pct. From January
April 9, 2013 9:27 am | by The Association For Manufacturing Technology | News | CommentsFebruary U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $385.89 million, was up 5.7 percent from January but down 10.6 percent when compared with the total of $431.63 million reported for February 2012. With a year-to-date total of $750.94 million, 2013 is down 11.9 percent compared with 2012.
Lagardere Sells Entire Stake In EADS
April 9, 2013 8:53 am | News | CommentsFrench media company Lagardere says it has sold its entire 7.4 percent stake in European aerospace and defense giant EADS. EADS, the parent to plane maker Airbus, said it bought some of the shares sold, adding 1.61 percent to its holdings of its own stock.
U.S.: Hacking Undermines China's Interests
April 9, 2013 8:43 am | by Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press | News | CommentsHacking that originates inside China is undermining its relationship with the United States and harms Beijing's long-term interests, a top U.S. diplomat said Tuesday, in the latest high-level public expression of concern over a problem that has prompted threats of commercial retaliation from Washington.
Factories That Ran On Korean Cooperation Go Silent
April 9, 2013 2:42 am | by Kim Yong-Ho and Youkyung Lee, Associated Press | News | CommentsOn Tuesday, the roads leading to Kaesong, the North's third biggest city, were empty of the normal line of cargo trucks and vehicles carrying supplies and people. Inside the complex, a couple of North Korean soldiers, clad in olive green uniforms and riding Chinese motorcycles, patrolled streets.
German Industrial Output Volatile
April 8, 2013 2:00 pm | by David McHugh, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsSlack industrial output was one of the main reasons behind the fourth quarter drop. Germany's dip was particularly alarming because the economy of the 17-country eurozone remains in recession due to its crisis over too much government debt and needs all the growth it can get.
Japan Experts Say New Nuclear Safety Plans Too Lax
April 8, 2013 1:42 pm | by Mari Yamaguchi, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe investigators told parliament on Monday that the recently formed Nuclear Regulation Authority is merely rubber-stamping TEPCO's work at the plant, which is still using makeshift equipment put together after the March 2011 disaster, caused by a massive earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan.
Brazil: Steel Company Must Move 750 People
April 8, 2013 8:22 am | News | CommentsThe state environment minister has called on a Brazilian steel company to immediately move around 750 people living near its plant in a Rio de Janeiro suburb. Soil there was found to contain up to 90 times the legal limit of toxic and potentially carcinogenic substances including lead and cadmium.
North Korea Recalling Workers From Jointly Run Factory
April 8, 2013 8:18 am | by Hyung-Jin Kim, Associated Press | News | CommentsNorth Korea said Monday it will suspend operations at a factory complex it has jointly run with South Korea, pulling out more than 53,000 North Korean workers and moving closer to severing its last economic link with its rival as tensions escalate.
